2026 Grant & Donation Recipients: Action for Grassroots Womens' Empowerment (AGWE), Heart of America, Solar Electric Light Fund, Footprint Project
The CFEBA Grants Committee received several grant applications during the application period, and after careful deliberation, the CFEBA is pleased to announce three grant recipients for 2026. In addition, the CFEBA has awarded a one-time donation to support hurricane disaster relief. Information about these awards is shown below. Thank you to the EBA members and other donors who made these awards possible. With your continued support, the CFEBA can continue to power positive change.
- Action for Grassroots Womens' Empowerment (AGWE)
A grant of $25,000 toward AGWE’s Bio Briquettes project, in which a group of 80 women in Bukedea, Uganda, will be trained to use a solar dryer to create biomass briquettes
from community crops and waste for use as an alternative to firewood and charcoal in cooking. Sale of the briquettes will result in 70 percent of revenues going to the 80 women, 25 percent to be reinvested in the biomass briquettes project, and 5 percent to be put in individual savings accounts for the participants. - Heart of America
A grant of $16,000 is awarded to Heart of America for its initiative to install stand-alone, roof mounted solar kits on student homes in the Navajo Nation not connected to the electrical grid. The kits include solar panels, a battery power station, LED lighting, and a small refrigerator. This Grant will enable four more student households to live with electricity, improving their quality of life and ability to study in the evenings. - Solar Electric Light Fund
A grant of $20,000 will go toward SELF’s solar-powered mediation training and legal aid center in one of the world’s largest slums in Kiberia Town Center, Kenya. This “Law Box” will provide free legal services and train one hundred certified mediators, potentially impacting over 600,000 people in Kenya as it prepares for Kenyan elections in 2027. - Footprint Project
A donation of $10,000 was given to Footprint Project in the wake of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica. This donation helped enable their Rapid Renewable Response efforts, including providing portable power stations and mobile solar microgrids to energize communication hubs, schools, shelters, rural health clinics, and basecamps.
Action for Grassroots Womens' Empowerment ($20,000)
Action for Grassroots Women’s Empowerment (AGWE) is a local Indigenous non-profit making women’s Organization NGO in Uganda. The organization focuses on sustainable development in agriculture, health, education and environmental conservation. Founded in 2008, AGWE seeks to assist with social economic development of rural women experiencing poverty. With their Bio Briquettes project, a group of 80 women in Bukedea, Uganda, will be trained to use a solar dryer to create biomass briquettes from community crops and waste for use as an alternative to firewood and charcoal in cooking. Learn more about AGWE here.
Heart of America ($16,000)
Heart of America’s Skip the Grid initiative brings clean, renewable solar energy directly to student households on the Navajo Nation that lack reliable electricity. More than 14,000 families on the reservation live without power, with at least 5,000 of these households including school-aged children. With CFEBA’s support, HOA will provide clean, safe, and reliable power to 20 additional student households. This investment will directly impact 80-100 individuals, including students, siblings, and caregivers, while also strengthening community knowledge of solar maintenance. By replacing unsafe power sources with clean energy, students gain the light and resources needed to succeed academically, while families experience immediate improvements in safety, health, and household finances. Learn more about Heart of America here.
Solar Electric Light Fund ($16,000)
Energy poverty affects around 1 billion people worldwide—families without lights, clinics without power for vaccines, schools where learning ends at sunset. But energy poverty isn’t inevitable. Since 1990, SELF has pioneered solar solutions that fight both energy poverty and climate change. Our Whole Village Development Model brings electricity to entire communities—schools, clinics, water systems, streetlights, and businesses. For 35 years, SELF has partnered with communities worldwide to expand access to clean energy. Learn more about SELF here.
The Footprint Project ($10,000)
The CFEBA was impressed with The Footprint Project's commitment to providing immediate energy-related assistance to those impacted by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica. with a mission "to help #BuildBackGreener after disasters by providing cleaner energy to communities in crisis." Footprint Project's Rapid Renewable Response includes providing portable power stations and mobile solar microgrids to energize communication hubs, schools, shelters, rural health clinics, basecamps, and more. Learn more about Footprint Project here.
Prior CFEBA Grant Projects
The availability of affordable energy is one of the world's critical issues impacting public health, safety and education. Statistics say there are approximately 1.3 billion people living in energy poverty around the world.
CFEBA supports charitable projects that have an energy-related purpose and are focused on improving lives worldwide. Over the years, through the generous support of our members, the CFEBA has funded approximately 2 million dollars to provide energy access to those most in need.
Cornerstone Grant Recipient 2024: Feeding Northeast Florida
The CFEBA selected Feeding Northeast Florida as the 2024 Cornerstone Grant Recipient, awarding the organization $50,000 to support the installation of solar electric infrastructure designed to reduce food bank utility costs and provide resiliency in the face of natural disasters.
Grant Recipient 2024: The NEED Project
The CFEBA gave a $10,000 grant to the National Energy Education Development Project (NEED). The NEED Project works with energy companies, state and federal agencies, and other organizations to produce energy programs for U.S. schools.
Cornerstone Project 2023: Nova Ukraine
As a result of recent attacks on the Ukrainian power grid, Nova Ukraine‘s grant request focused on the immediate need for electric generators in hospitals and warming centers across the country. This grant of $50,000 covered nearly 60% of the initial generator project needs.
Cornerstone Project 2020, Yurok Tribe
In 2020, CFEBA donors helped the Yurok Tribe, the largest federally recognized Indian Tribe in California, build a micro-grid that will allow the Tribe to maintain critical services and operations during extended power outages and emergencies.
Cornerstone Project 2019, Educate Haiti
In 2019, the CFEBA partnered with Educate Haiti, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, to electrify schools buildings and help educate more than 400 students in Durissy, Haiti.
Cornerstone Project 2018- Puerto Rico Primary Care
The 2018 grant to Puerto Rico Primary Cary funded the installation of an integrated hybrid solar power system that powered the refrigeration units at the primary care clinics across the hurricane ravaged island.
Cornerstone Project 2017, Innovation Africa
With the help of CFEBA donors, Innovation Africa has completed drilling beneath the ground in the aquifer, has installed a water tank, a solar pump, and solar panels to pump water up to the tank. The Akuyam village now has access to CLEAN WATER!
Cornerstone Project 2016, Light Up a Village
In 2016, the CFEBA partnered with NRECA International Foundation to support the men and women of U.S. utilities who lend their skills to design and implement rural electrification programs, bringing electricity to parts of the world that lack it. This important new project provided life-changing electricity to 460 families in rural El Beni, Bolivia, a farming region located between the northeastern Bolivian cities of Guayaramerin and Riberalta.
Additional Grant Recipients
Learn more about CFEBA grant recipients prior to 2016.
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